Today on Valentine's Day we celebrate the power of romantic love, of couples who have devoted themselves to each other, to stable relationships, to traditional values of home, family and in some cases, children.

We refer, of course, to the four couples whose lawsuit seeking legal recognition of their same-sex marriages led to Wednesday's watershed decision by U.S. District Judge John G. Heyburn II that Kentucky's refusal to recognize legally wed gay couples is unconstitutional because it violates equal protection of the U.S. Constitution.

All four couples married outside Kentucky in places where same-sex marriage is legal. And while same-sex marriages within the state remain prohibited by the Kentucky Constitution, that could be subject to challenge as well, Judge Heyburn noted in a ruling that could open the door to gay marriage in Kentucky.

Judge Heyburn's ruling comes in a dramatically shifting landscape, where 17 states now recognize same-sex marriage and nine other state and federal judges have issued similar rulings.

"Jim and I have been together, in November, it was 45 years," said Luther Barlowe, 71, of Bardstown, spouse of Jimmy Meade. They decided to marry in 2009, he said, "before I died."

The couple "stayed in the closet" for many years but decided to join the lawsuit out of a desire to help other gay couples, he said.

Randell Johnson of Louisville and Paul Campion, the parents of four adopted children, said the couple wanted to make it easier for others seeking to become a family. When they first attempted to adopt 18 years ago, officials "wouldn't even consider us as parents," Mr. Johnson said.

Judge Heyburn found that Kentucky's refusal to recognize such marriages affects a host of other legal issues such as Social Security and worker's compensation benefits, income taxes and inheritance rights. In seeking recognition, the plaintiffs don't argue against merits of "traditional marriage," he noted. "They only argue that they should be allowed to enjoy them also."

Political reaction was swift.

U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth, a Louisville Democrat, quickly hailed the decision as a step toward "full equality" in Kentucky.

But other reaction ranged from unfortunate to incomprehensible.

U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell, a Republican who has moved increasingly to the hard right in his quest for a sixth term, announced he supports "traditional marriage" and said he will "fight to make sure that Kentuckians define marriage as we see fit and never have a definition forced on us."

Republican Matt Bevin, running against Mr. McConnell in this year's primary election, blamed his opponent. It was Mr. McConnell, he noted, who recommended Judge Heyburn, a Republican once active in local GOP politics, to former President George H.W. Bush for the federal bench.

And Alison Lundergan Grimes, the Democrat running for U.S. Senate, issued a vague statement noting that she is married and "wouldn't want to deny other couples the opportunity." But she then added "churches should not be forced to recognize anything inconsistent with their teachings."

Since Judge Heyburn's decision does nothing of the sort, that last line is, well, puzzling. If Ms. Grimes supports marriage equality, she should be bold enough to say so.

Meanwhile, Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway, who defended the Kentucky law, has a decision to make.

Will he continue to defend it? Or will he recognize, as Judge Heyburn notes, that small steps forward over the years have led to a vastly different attitude about gay marriage?

"Each of these small steps," the judge wrote, "has led us to this place and this time, where the right of same-sex spouses to the state conferred benefits of marriage is virtually compelled."

Louisville, Kentucky • Southern Indiana

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Editorial | The power of love

Today on Valentine's Day we celebrate the power of romantic love, of couples who have devoted themselves to each other, to stable relationships, to traditional values of home, family and in some